Mortified? Ex-wife of Guggenheim Partners exec headlines reality show

A-lister Tinsley Mortimer is jumping from the social circuit to the national spotlight with her own reality television show.

Cameras follow Mortimer and a few of her friends on the party circuit as they live their fabulous lives in New York City. But it’s not all champagne and velvet ropes.

The show, “High Society,” which premiered Wednesday on the CW, comes as Ms. Mortimer is newly single after splitting from her husband, Robert “Topper” Mortimer, whom she met in high school.

Mr. Mortimer, the great-grandson of a former president of Standard Oil and a descendant of the first chief justice, John Jay, is a hedge fund executive at Guggenheim Partners, an asset management firm in New York.

Guggenheim, which is run by former Bear Stearns boss Alan Schwartz, has been on a buying spree lately that would no doubt do Ms. Mortimer proud. The firm acquired Claymore Securities Inc. in October. Then, in February, the company bought Security Benefit Corp. — and with it Rydex SGI.

All told, Guggenheim has more than $100 billion in assets under management.

“High Society,” the show staring Mr. Mortimer’s ex, features scenes of her moving out on her own, going on dates and dealing with a mother who’s unhappy about her impending divorce.

In one episode, Ms. Mortimer’s friends throw her what they call a single shower to mark her bachelorette status. They each show a photo of an eligible man they think she could date. There’s a lot of giggling until her mother pulls out one of the photos from her wedding to Mr. Mortimer and says he’s the perfect guy for her.

Tinsley Mortimer says she understands where her mom is coming from.

“No mother wants to see her daughter get divorced,” she says. “It’s hard when you grow apart. It’s scary and exciting. I feel like I’ve come out stronger from all this … filming this TV show was almost like therapy.”

It also could be lucrative. The master plan is for “High Society” to expand the Tinsley Mortimer brand.

Ms. Mortimer already designs a line of handbags for Samantha Thavasa and wants to branch out into clothing, home care and other items.

“I’m a smart girl, and I work hard,” she says. “I’m very focused, and I want to build a business here. That’s really the larger goal, and that’s the reason I did a television show and all those risks that come along with that.”

Plus, it could help her reputation. Ms. Mortimer says she hopes people will realize she’s more normal than they think.

“I do not go out every night,” she says. “I do love to wear sweat pants and veg out.”